Xyz Reborn

February 6th, 2012

Xyz Monsters are sometimes tough to Summon. You need to combine at least 2 on-field monsters to Summon one of them, and the monsters you combine must all be the same Level. But Xyz Reborn, a Trap Card in Order of Chaos, is the first card that lets you Summon an Xyz Monster without having any monsters on your field. It’s essentially a 1-card Xyz Summon. By activating Xyz Reborn, you can Special Summon an Xyz Monster from your Graveyard and give it an Xyz Material.

Xyz Reborn carries a lot of power. Duelists typically create the “overlay network” by combining their monsters, and then Summon a powerful Xyz Monster to take those monsters’ place. But that power comes with a risk: if your Xyz Monster is destroyed, even if you revive it with Monster Reborn or Call of the Haunted, it won’t get its Xyz Materials back. Xyz Reborn sidesteps that drawback. As long as you successfully Xyz Summoned a monster once before, you can revive it from your Graveyard with Xyz Reborn and Xyz Reborn becomes an Xyz Material attached to that monster. That means that you’ll be able to use the vast majority of Xyz Monsters’ effects again!

It’s important to note that Xyz Reborn is a Trap Card that can be activated at any time. It’s also a Normal Trap Card, so it doesn’t stick around on the field after it’s activated. [Reminder: Xyz Materials are not considered to be “cards on the field”.]

These qualities make Xyz Reborn one of the safest cards to play with and activate. You can Chain Xyz Reborn to any card that would destroy it, including Heavy Storm and Mystical Space Typhoon, in order to Special Summon an Xyz Monster and have Xyz Reborn escape the destruction by becoming an Xyz Material attached to the Special Summoned monster.

This makes Xyz Reborn very different than Call of the Haunted, and much better for reviving powerful Xyz Monsters. Call of the Haunted is a Continuous Trap Card that revives a monster from the Graveyard, so if an opponent Chains Mystical Space Typhoon or Dust Tornado to destroy Call of the Haunted when it’s activated, Call of the Haunted never gets the chance to resolve and Special Summon a monster from the Graveyard. Plus, even if Call of the Haunted does Special Summon a monster successfully, the monster it Summons goes down with it when Call of the Haunted leaves the field. This makes Call of the Haunted and the monster it Summons vulnerable to Spell and Trap destruction. Xyz Reborn doesn’t share that weakness.

Xyz Reborn also has the obvious advantage of giving an Xyz Material to the monster it revives. Monsters like Wind-Up Zenmaines, Leviair the Sea Dragon, Number 39: Utopia, Evolzar Dolkka, and Number 12: Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja are a lot stronger when each of them has an Xyz Material and can use its effect. Reviving one of them with Xyz Reborn will instantly give you an impressive field.

Different Decks specialize at summoning Xyz Monsters of different Ranks, but just about all Decks Summon powerful Xyz Monsters throughout the course of a Duel. Think about which of those Xyz Monsters would be most useful for you to revive in your Deck, and use Xyz Reborn to make it happen.